As a result of state-of-the-art fertility treatment Noah was born free of the gene

So she opted for state-of-the-art ­fertility treatment to let her embryos be screened for the BRCA mutation before they were implanted.

Carried out at CARE Fertility in Nottingham and funded by the NHS, Danielle started injecting herself with hormones in October 2014 to encourage her body to produce more eggs. Nine were harvested and four fertilised ones survived.

Screening revealed that three of them had the frightening mutation.

Danielle had just one embryo with a chance of success — and it worked.

Son Noah, who turns one on Friday, was born free of the gene, reducing his risk of developing prostate and breast cancers.

Danielle, who lives with her partner Mason Bradshaw, 25, in Blaby, Leics, said: “Becoming a mother was everything I thought it would be and more.

Angelina Jolie underwent a double mastectomy when told she carried the gene

“I will soon have a mastectomy and hysterectomy and, after seeing so many people I love get cancer, I wanted to minimise the chances of my kids suffering the same fate or having to go through invasive surgery like I have to.”

Figures from Cancer Research UK show there are approximately 72,400 women in the UK with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation.

If all these women were to have mastectomies, their cancer risk would be reduced by around 90 per cent.
Blokes can carry the faulty gene too — one in 100 of those with a faulty BRCA1 gene will develop breast cancer and a quarter of BRCA2-positive men will get prostate cancer.

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CRASH CHAOS

In 2013, Danielle’s genetic counsellor at Leicester Royal Infirmary told her she would qualify for IVF treatment to help her conceive a baby without the deadly mutation.

She said: “I knew instantly that I wanted to undergo IVF, to see if I could have a baby without it.

“I have wanted to be a mum since I was 16. My partner Mason, who is 25, and I knew it was worth trying it.

“I wasn’t at all worried about having to inject myself with hormones — all I could think about was my baby’s health and how I didn’t want him or her to suffer because of something in their genes that I could have prevented.”

Danielle had her first consultation for the £9,000 procedure at CARE Fertility, Nottingham, in September 2014. It was funded by the NHS.

But for her, knowing he did not have the same risk of cancer as herself and many others in her family made it all the more special.

She said: “It is horrible to see your family members suffer with cancer and I’m pleased my son has a much lower chance of developing it.

“I am proud of myself for taking action and going through IVF so he can hopefully live a long, healthy and happy life without the worry of surgery, like I have to face in a few years, or a heightened threat of cancer.

“Knowing he doesn’t have the same faulty gene makes me feel great.”

Noah, who turns one this Friday, has recently started to crawl.

Danielle said: “He has a really cheeky little personality. He’s constantly smiling and is an absolute joy to be around.

“Parents do everything they can to support their children and having the IVF to prevent me passing on this faulty gene has been just part of that for me.

“I can sleep soundly now, knowing my son’s risk of cancer is so much lower and he can develop and live his life like any other young boy.

“My mum wishes technology had been advanced enough so she could have done the same for me, my sister and brother.

“But the sad thing is, if I want another baby, I will have to pay for IVF privately — something we can’t afford.

“I do worry that my next child won’t be so lucky. That’s on my mind a lot.”

Proud father Mason, a hospital clerk, said: “Noah is a bubbly little boy who’s very sociable and loud.

“Although the IVF process was quite daunting, it was all totally worth it in the end.

“I helped Danielle with her hormone injections and supported her through the process.

“Now it is a massive relief knowing that Noah won’t have to be tested to see if he is a carrier, or go through preventative treatments, or get cancer like the rest of Danielle’s family.

HOW THE PROCESS WORKS

By Colleen Lynch, fertility expert from CARE Fertility, Nottingham

An embryo with a faulty BRCA gene looks just like any other. It is a tiny coding mistake that can have massive ramifications in terms of a person’s susceptibility to cancer, so there is no way to look into a microscope and tell which embryo doesn’t have it.
We use the same technology to screen embryos for BRCA mutations as we do for genetic diseases. The technique is called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD).
We take a blood sample from both parents. We also need a blood sample of the parent of the person who carries the faulty BRCA gene.
Hundreds of thousands of cells are analysed in these samples and allow us to identify inheritance within a family. This, in turn, helps us identify a faulty BRCA gene in an embryo.
When a woman’s eggs have been harvested and fertilised, a tiny number of cells are sent away for analysis.
Before the lab results come back, the embryos are frozen. The healthy ones are then thawed, ready for implantation.
If a woman becomes pregnant with an embryo that doesn’t have faulty BRCA genes, it means her baby has a much lower chance of developing breast, ovarian and prostate cancers.HOW MUCH IT COSTS THE NHS
Danielle’s treatment cost £9,000, which is a lot cheaper than preventative surgery or cancer treatment for patients with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations. Day-case mastectomies cost the NHS up to £2,771 but will cost more if a patient needs to stay in hospital.
In the year 2012-13, just under 23,200 mastectomies were performed in England, according to NHS Digital. Many of them were performed on people with a family history of breast cancer.
Each hysterectomy costs around £2,362 and the price of radio and chemotherapy for breast and ovarian cancer varies but easily runs into thousands of pounds.
Macmillan Cancer Support predicts that inpatient costs for breast cancer in England will rise by £87million between 2010 and 2020. The NHS currently spends more than £15million on breast cancer drugs alone every year.

“In the long-run, I’m sure IVF in cases like ours will save the NHS money — breast cancer treatment and surgery like mastectomies cost so much.”

Consultant Genetic Counsellor Alison Lashwood, from Guy’s Hospital in South East London, said: “Many people with a family history of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations have a tragic family history of cancer.

“For lots of patients, knowing they are carriers is a big responsibility and they don’t want to pass it on. Many find it hard to justify to their kids telling them at a later stage when they know they could have done something about it before they were born.

“We use PGD on known carriers of cystic fibrosis and Huntington’s disease too, but the numbers of those wanting it for BRCA are climbing.”

Colleen Lynch, a fertility expert at CARE Fertility, said: “Out of the four couples we’ve treated in the last two years with the faulty gene, two babies have been born and one couple is expecting.

“People who choose to go through this process do so because they have seen generations of their families decimated by cancer. Although they could conceive naturally, they don’t want their children to suffer in the same way.

“If a woman becomes pregnant with an embryo that doesn’t have faulty BRCA genes, it means her child will have a far lower risk of breast, ovarian and prostate cancers — and we can ensure that happens using PGD.”

Professor Joyce Harper, a British Fertility Society member, added: “Although it’s not an easy process to go through, for some people it­ gives them reassurance from before the pregnancy that their child will not be affected by faulty genes.

“There have been some genetic developments since we first developed PGD and things are now advancing.”

TREATMENT TIMELINE

1968: Physiologists Robert Edwards and Richard Gardner identify the gender of rabbit blastocysts – the inner cell which eventually forms the embryo. This was an important conception breakthrough.1970: Geneticist Mary-Claire King, from the University of Washington, starts researching breast cancer and how it runs in families.1977: Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards carry out the conception of the first “test tube baby”. Louise Brown is born on July 25 at Oldham General Hospital the following year.1980s: Researchers at Hammersmith Hospital discover a key part of a chromosome carrying genetic information, allowing Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis techniques to help treat sickle-cell anemia, Tay-Sachs disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Beta thalassemia.1990: The Human Genome Project launches to help researchers better understand our genes and Mary-Claire King discovers the region of the genome now known as BRCA1.1993: Professor Doug Easton and his Cancer Research team publish a paper analysing the data from more than 200 families affected by cancer.1994: Professor Michael Stratton, from the Institute of Cancer Research, and his team discover the BRCA2 gene.1995: BRCA1 faults are proven to be common in young women who have developed breast and ovarian cancer.2001: The Human Genome Project reveals there are approximately 20,500 genes in human beings.2008: Cancer Research UK teams identify how specific faults in BRCA2 can affect how a patient responds to treatment.2009: A girl is born in London via an IVF procedure ensuring she hasn’t inherited a BRCA1 fault from her dad. Subsequent licenses are granted to clinics to use the technique for BRCA-positive people.2013: Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie announces she has had a double mastectomy and hysterectomy after discovering she carries the faulty BRCA1 gene.